Published: Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 02:03 PM.

* J.A. Anthony, a prominent Shelby attorney, bought the home in 1905. He and his wife, Ollie Gardner Anthony, started a renovation in 1907 that changed the appearance of the house.

* James Webb, a judge and father of Faye Webb, Oliver Maxwell Gardner’s wife, bought the home in 1911 and moved family into the home, which became known as Webbley. Even after O. Max Gardner’s death, Faye lived at Webbley until her death in January 1969.

* O. Max Gardner was a state senator, lieutenant governor and governor from 1929 to 1933.

Historic Webbley – a Cleveland County landmark, long the home of well-known Gardner and Webb family members and a former bed-and-breakfast – is for sale with a list price of $1.6 million.

O. Max Gardner III, who owns the uptown Shelby property, said he wants a buyer to preserve the property as it is.

“We have a pretty large livestock and kennel operation in Casar. We’re going to focus more of our time up there than down here,” he said. “I’m also close to the end of retiring from my law practice. I’ll be 68 in October.”

Gardner said his son – who died in a 2005 vehicle wreck – would have been the person in line to take over the property.

He said he’d like to see Webbley return to being a bed-and-breakfast.

“We’re talking to people who have interest in it for that,” he said. “When we had the bed-and-breakfast before, we didn’t have the Gibson Theatre. That would be a big plus, as will the Earl Scruggs Center when it opens. And we didn’t have all the restaurants there are now.”

Several people have already shown interest in the site, said Joyce Elliott, an agent with Allen Tate Realtors.

“It’s not something that’s going to sell in the next minute or two,” Elliott said. “It’s right ready to make another bed-and-breakfast. With its background, we feel like we’re selling history.”

Reach Matthew Tessnear at 704-669-3331, at mtessnear@shelbystar.com or on Twitter @MatthewTessnear.

List price: $1.6 million

Source: Allen Tate Realtors

Tax value: $535,669 total ($461,028 building, $74,641 land)

Source: Cleveland County GIS

Why the difference between sale price and tax value?

The sales price is based on a certified master appraiser’s value, according to property owner O. Max Gardner III.

“It is very common for such a valuation to exceed the tax value of a property like the Webbley,” Gardner said.

Property: 2.44 acres, including historic Webbley home, current law office, garage with space above it, multiple lots, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

* J.A. Anthony, a prominent Shelby attorney, bought the home in 1905. He and his wife, Ollie Gardner Anthony, started a renovation in 1907 that changed the appearance of the house.

* James Webb, a judge and father of Faye Webb, Oliver Maxwell Gardner’s wife, bought the home in 1911 and moved family into the home, which became known as Webbley. Even after O. Max Gardner’s death, Faye lived at Webbley until her death in January 1969.

* O. Max Gardner was a state senator, lieutenant governor and governor from 1929 to 1933.

* O. Max Gardner III purchased the property in 1989 following the death of his uncle Ralph Webb Gardner

* The site is the setting for a segment of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 movie “The Birth of a Nation,” based on “The Clansman” novel. The film was the first to be shown in the White House.

* In addition to residents, many notable people have visited in the past, including two presidents, every North Carolina governor from 1900-2000, football coaches including Joe Paterno and Steve Spurrier while on recruiting trips, Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner during a wedding for one of Houston’s family members

* Webbley served as bed-and-breakfast inn during the 1990s

Sources: O. Max Gardner III, National Parks Service National Register of Historic Places